Article 12 - Sick Leave

Section 1.  Sick Leave Accumulation.  Employees, except for emergency, temporary, and intermittent employees shall accrue sick leave at the rate of four (4) hours per pay period of continuous employment beginning with their date of eligibility.  Intermittent employees shall become eligible for sick leave after completion of sixty-seven (67) working days in any twelve (12) month period. Temporary unclassified employees appointed for periods longer than six (6) months shall be considered eligible for purposes of this Article.  Eligible employees appointed to emergency or temporary status from layoff status shall continue to be eligible to accrue and use sick leave.

Employees on a military leave under Article 14 shall earn and accrue sick leave as though actually employed, pursuant to Minn. Stat. 192.26.

An employee who transfers or is transferred to another Appointing Authority without an interruption of service shall carry forward accrued and unused sick leave.

An eligible employee who moves to a MAPE position without a break in service from any other position in any branch of Minnesota State government shall have their accumulated sick leave balance transferred.

Employees being paid for less than a full eighty (80) hour pay period shall have sick leave accruals pro-rated in accord with Appendix C.

Section 2.  Sick Leave.  The employee shall notify the Appointing Authority of any illness at or before their normally scheduled starting time.  

Employees utilizing leave under this Section shall furnish a statement from a medical practitioner upon the request of the Appointing Authority when the Appointing Authority has reasonable cause to believe that an employee has abused or is abusing sick leave.  The abuse of sick leave may constitute just cause for disciplinary action.  

The Appointing Authority may also request a statement from a medical practitioner if the Appointing Authority has reason to believe the employee is not fit to work or has been exposed to a contagious disease which endangers the health of other employees, clients, or the public.  

Employees returning from extended sick leave shall notify the Appointing Authority within a reasonable amount of time prior to returning to work.

Section 3.  Sick Leave Use.  An employee shall be granted sick leave with pay to the extent of their accumulation for absences necessitated by the following conditions:

1. Employee.

   1. Illness or disability.
       
   2. Medical, chiropractic, or dental care.
       
   3. Exposure to contagious disease so that the employee’s attendance on duty may endanger the health of fellow employees or the public.
       
   4. Upon request of the employee, a birth mother shall be allowed to use six (6) weeks or more, if certified as necessary by a medical provider, of accumulated sick leave for the birth of a child.
       
   5. Employees with a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring the use of a service animal may use sick leave and/or vacation leave to attend the initial training for service animal handling. Employees with a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), who require attendance at a customarily required and professionally administered initial training or orientation concerning the use of an assistive device related to their disability, may use vacation and/or sick leave for attendance.  Employees who do not have sufficient leave accruals to attend such initial trainings or orientations shall be credited with up to forty (40) hours of leave per fiscal year to be used for this purpose. Such credit shall not apply in cases where the Appointing Authority provides the training or orientation, and such credit shall be reduced proportionately as vacation and sick leave is accumulated. At the discretion of Minnesota Management and Budget, more than forty (40) hours may be credited.
       

2. Others.  Sick leave shall also be granted with pay for the following reasons.

   1. Illness of the following persons:   employee’s spouse, dependent children, adult children, stepchildren, foster children, (including wards and children for whom the employee is the legal guardian, parent,  stepparent), grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother or sister, or grandchild for such periods as the employee’s attendance may be necessary. Sick leave may also be used for the illness or injury of other family members as provided by state law.
       
   2. Illness of a minor child, whether or not the child lives in the employee’s household, for such periods as the employee’s attendance may be necessary.
       
   3. To accompany the employee’s spouse, minor or dependent children, stepchildren, and foster children (including wards and children for whom the employee is the legal guardian), to dental or medical appointments for such reasonable periods as the employee’s attendance is necessary.
       
   4. To arrange for necessary nursing or hospice care for members of the family as described in paragraphs B(1) and B(2) above regardless of the family member’s location of residence.  Sick leave for this reason shall be limited to not more than five (5) days.
       
   5. Birth or adoption of a child.  Sick leave for this reason shall be limited to not more than five (5) days.
       
   6. With prior notice, an employee may use sick leave to accompany a parent to a medical and/or dental appointment.
       
   7. In addition, the expanded law also allows employees to use sick leave for the purposes of obtaining assistance or providing assistance to a relative as named above because of sexual assault, domestic abuse, or stalking.  The employer may limit the use of personal sick leave for the reasons listed above to a cap of 160 hours in any 12 month period. 
       

3. Safety Leave.  Sick leave may be used for safety leave for the employee or the employee’s relatives as provided by state law.
    

4. Bereavement Leave.  The use of a reasonable amount of sick leave shall be granted in cases of death of the spouse, the domestic partner (same and opposite sex), parents and grandparents of the spouse or parents/step parents, grandparents, guardian, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, wards, or stepchildren of the employee.  In addition, sick leave, limited to eight (8) hours, shall be granted in the case of the death of a parent of the employee’s minor child. The supervisor shall make a reasonable effort to adjust the hours of an employee in order to permit their attendance at the funeral of a co-worker.

In no event shall sick leave with pay be granted beyond the extent of an employee's accumulation.  However, upon request to the Appointing Authority, employees who are eligible to accrue sick leave, but who do not have sufficient accruals to take leave for bereavement of the family members identified above, shall be credited with a reasonable amount of sick leave, not to exceed forty (40) hours  per fiscal year for this purpose. Such credit shall be reduced proportionally as sick leave is accumulated.

Employee sick leave accruals earned while on paid leave may be used by the employee with the approval of the supervisor without returning to work prior to such use.

Section 4.  Sick Leave Charges.  An employee using sick leave shall be charged for only the number of hours they were scheduled to work during the period of the sick leave.  Holidays that occur during sick leave periods will be paid as a holiday and not charged as a sick leave day. Employees who, because of the nature of their job, schedule their own time shall be limited to a maximum of eight (8) hours of sick leave for each work day.

An employee incurring an on the job injury shall be paid the employee’s regular rate of pay for the remainder of the work shift.  Any necessary sick leave charges shall not commence until the employee’s first scheduled work day following the injury.

Section 5.  Reinstatement of Sick Leave.  An eligible employee who is reinstated or reappointed to State service within four (4) years of the date of resignation in good standing, or retirement shall have their accumulated but unused sick leave balance restored and posted to their credit in the records of the employing department provided such sick leave was accrued in accordance with the personnel rules or the provisions of this Agreement.

An employee who receives severance pay, and returns to State service within four (4) years of the date of resignation in good standing or retirement, shall have their sick leave balance restored at sixty percent (60%) of the employee’s first nine-hundred (900) hours of accumulated but unused sick leave, plus eighty-seven and one-half percent (87½%) of the employee’s accumulated but unused sick leave in excess of nine-hundred (900) hours.

Upon request, employees of the legislative branch who transfer or who are appointed to State service within four (4) years of the date of resignation in good standing or retirement shall have accumulated unused sick leave posted to the employee's credit provided such sick leave was accrued in accordance with the personnel rules or the provisions of this Agreement.